1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to: a display control device having a touch-enabled display on its operation panel, which is generally installed on an image forming apparatus, for example; a display control method for the display control device; and a recording medium having a display control program being stored thereon.
2. Description of the Related Art
The following description sets forth the inventor's knowledge of related art and problems therein and should not be construed as an admission of knowledge in the prior art.
Multifunctional digital image forming apparatus such as multi-function peripherals (MFP) and others, having touch-enabled displays on operation panels being installed on the main bodies thereof, have become very popular for recent years, and now users are allowed to edit images by operating touch-screens of the operation panels.
For example, users are now allowed to select a stamp image such as “confidential” or “star” among those stored on recording mediums of the main bodies of the MFPs and others and give it to (incorporate them into) a document image for printing so that the document and the stamp image can be printed together.
The following is to explain how a user operates a touch-screen more specifically: display a first image M1 as a document image on a touch-screen as illustrated in FIG. 16A; with user's finger N, touch a second image M2 (a “star” stamp image in this example), which is shown out of the display area for the first image M1, and drag it into the display area for the first image M1; keep dragging the second image M2 to a desirable position as illustrated in FIG. 16B; and drop the second image M2 at the desirable position to incorporate into the first image M1 by releasing the finger N therefrom as illustrated in FIG. 16C.
Generally, MFPs and others have operation panels whose screens are smaller and lower-resolution than those for personal computers and others; most of the MFPs and others have operation panels that can display only a part of the first image M1 on a screen W as illustrated in FIG. 17.
Thus users are allowed to edit the first image M1 while seeing only a part of it on the screen W. That is, users conventionally edited the first image M1 on a pane-by-pane basis while moving (scrolling) the screen W all around. FIG. 17 illustrates a conventional example in which a user is trying to see another part of the first image M1 by scrolling the screen W toward the arrow head.
As understood from this figure, users had the difficulty in perceiving a full view of the first image M1 including text, symbols, and layout and in dragging the second image M2 to drop exactly at a desirable position on the first image M1.
More specifically, if the first image M1 is almost blank with only a little text as illustrated in FIG. 18 for example, users would have more difficulty in dragging and dropping because they cannot know which part of the first image M1 they are seeing via the screen. The same is true if the first image M1 is full of a tiled pattern P as illustrated in FIG. 19.
Similarly, under the circumstances that users are allowed to see another part of an image by flicking a touch-panel that can display only a part of it, users might be bothered by flicking the touch-panel again and again to finally see a target part of the image. This is because one flick allows only a short moving length on such a touch-panel having a small and limited displayed range for an image. In order to solve this problem, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-034512 suggests an effective technique to achieve a long moving length by only a slight flick.
The technique described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-034512 may allow users to drag the second image M2 such as a “star” stamp image and drop it on the first image M1 that is a document image, by flicking the touch-panel with user's finger N only slightly. However, it does not provide a perfect solution to the outstanding problem: users have the difficulty in perceiving text, symbols, layout, and other elements of the first image M1 and in dragging and dropping, as long as the size of displayed range for the first image M1 is not changed.
Users may configure the touch-panel to display a reduced version of the entire first image M1 on the screen in order to perceive a full view including text, symbols, and layout and drag and drop the second image M2, with no difficulty. However, that would also need them to devote more time to make a reduced version of the first image M1, which is a problem that detracts from user-friendliness.
Users also may configure the touch-panel to display a reduced version of the entire first image M1 on an auxiliary screen in order to perceive a full view thereon and drag and drop the second image M2. However, that would also bother them by the poor visibility when dragging and dropping because the auxiliary screen is often unpractical for its size and its position on the touch-panel.
The description herein of advantages and disadvantages of various features, embodiments, methods, and apparatus disclosed in other publications is in no way intended to limit the present invention. Indeed, certain features of the invention may be capable of overcoming certain disadvantages, while still retaining some or all of the features, embodiments, methods, and apparatus disclosed therein.